Hiya Geeklings! How’re the last weeks of summer going? Just another couple of weeks for the TSRC. Keep logging in and don’t forget to sign up for the End of Summer party on the 23rd.

So here’s something interesting to discuss amongst your fandom circles. Who do you find yourself drawn to more often than not in a movie, book, TV show, etc.? Is it the protagonist, the main character, the one getting all the focus and drama? OR is it one of the minor characters, the bit-part players, the ones who tend to hover in the background?

You’d be surprised how often fans can find themselves more focused on a side character. Despite the creators best efforts to put someone, or a group of people, front and center sometimes someone else will break through for some or a lot of fans. It can be unexpected, and therefore kind of magical. And it’s not a new thing. One really early example is the Fonz pretty much taking over Happy Days even though it was supposed to focus on Richie Cunningham (it was a show from the 70s about teens in the 50s, look it up). And if those characters get killed off… you may not be all that inclined to keep watching or reading if your favorite character is gone, ammirite? That’s why you see so many tshirts saying “If Daryl dies, we riot.”

So to get the conversation rolling here’s a few examples of side or lesser known characters I’ve enjoyed…

Reading about Gambit was what got me thinking about this in the first place. The dude’s super facinating. A proud Cajun, a thief, a mutant, an orphan, a former Horseman of the Apocalypse, member of many teams, uses playing cards as weapons, massive charmer. There’s a lot to like there. Apparently Fox studios is STILL thinking of giving him a solo film, but we’ve yet to see it come to fruition. One of the biggest problems I had with X-Men Origins: Wolverine (and there were many) was Gambit’s portrayal. The Cajun accent wasn’t nearly strong enough, amongst other things.

Switching gears to DC, one of my very favorite villains (though he would call himself a hero) is Sinestro. He’s been around for a while as a major foil in the Green Lantern universe and is still one of the mostcomplex and interesting characters in DC, in my humble opinion. And I’m not the only one who thinks so because he ended up getting his own series.

Though I could talk about this all day, here’s one more; General Hux from The Force Awakens. Seriously, what’s his deal? We saw so little of him, yet he was a big enough player to give a key speech during a key moment (I’m not saying what, ’cause spoilers). Loyal to the First Order, buts heads with Kylo Ren, probably super ambitious and he’s played by the same actor who plays Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter films. Seriously! More details have emerged about him since the movie came out, but still much we don’t know. I figured he’d probably be a one-off, but he is back for The Last Jedi, so yay! Maybe we’ll learn more.

So there’s a few. Which minor, secondary, or lesser-known characters to you hold in high esteem? Post away in the comments section or write about them on the Write It page.